Monday 2 December to Friday 6 December: Media Preview Week. To facilitate this annual event, when members of the press explore government records that have been closed for 30 years (this year is records from 1989), the Reading Room of the National Archives of Ireland, Bishop Street,
Dublin 8 will be closed to the public. The Genealogy Advisory Service will not run while the Reading Room is closed. Reopens Monday 9 December at 10am.
Monday 2 December: Genealogy chat and drinks, an informal get-together for all genealogists, amateur and professional. Host: The Irish Genealogical Research Society's Ireland Branch. Venue: The Mercantile, 28 Dame Street,
Dublin 2. 6pm to 10pm. All welcome.
Monday 2 December: Members' Night - Tales and Artefacts. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society,
Killyleagh branch. Venue: Killyleagh Masonic Hall, 50 High Street,
Killyleagh, Co Down, BT30 9QF. 8pm. All welcome.
Tuesday 3 December: Finding Family History Stories, a single two-hour session workshop with Michael McKeag. Host: Host and venue: North of Ireland Family History Society, C4 Research Centre, Valley Business Centre, Church Rd,
Newtownabbey, Antrim BT36 7L. All welcome. 11am–1pm. Fee £8, payable at the session. Booking and details,
here.
Thursday 5 December: Tracing Relatives of the Belfast Shipyards, a class with Maureen McKinney 7.00pm-9.00pm NIFHS Venue: Honneyman Room, NIFHS Research Centre, Unit C4, Valley Business Centre, 67 Church Road,
Newtownabbey, Co Antrim BT36 7LS. 7–9pm. £8.
Fully Booked.
Thursday 5 December: The suffering of the poor and the language of charity in C19th Ireland, with Dr Ciaran McCabe. Host: Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies. Venue: Seminar Room, Institute of Irish Studies (QUB), 27 University Square,
Belfast. 6:30pm. All welcome.
Friday 6 December: Online Resources workshop, an introduction to using online records for family and local history research. Host and venue: PRONI, Titanic Boulevard,
Belfast. All welcome. Free. 11am to 1pm.
FULLY BOOKED.
Friday 6 December: Main Reading Room of the National Library of Ireland closed. All other National Library services, including the Manuscripts Reading Room and Genealogy Advisory Service will be open as normal.
Saturday 7 December: How to get ready to search Irish records, with Kevin Cassidy. Host: Columbus Public Library. Venue: Columbus Public Library-Van Cleave Room, 3000 Macon Rd.,
Columbus, Georgia, USA, 10:30am. All welcome.
Monday 9 December – Friday 13 December inclusive:
Preservation Week. During this annual event, PRONI's Preservation and Collections Management staff get an opportunity to dedicate some time to the vital work that goes on behind the scenes. The knock-on effect means a reduced service to researchers. Document ordering and production will be suspended throughout the week, but the Search Room and self-service microfilm facilities will be available as normal in the public search room. PRONI, Titanic Boulevard,
Belfast.
Monday 9 December: A Victorian Childhood in East Antrim, with Ron Bishop. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society,
Newtownabbey Branch. Venue: Drama Theatre, Glengormley High School, 134 Ballyclare Road,
Newtownabbey, BT36 5HP. All welcome. 7pm.
Tuesday 10 December: Digital Transformation for Cemeteries, with Neil Sherrin. Host: Genealogical Society of Ireland. Venue: DFEi, Cumberland St,
Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. All welcome. €3. 8pm.
Tuesday 10 December As True as I’m Standing Here: Quirky PRONI Stories, with Dr Ann McVeigh. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society,
Lisburn Branch. Venue: Bridge Community Centre, 50 Railway Street,
Lisburn, BT28 1XP. All welcome. Free. 7:30pm.
Thursday 12 December: The Butlers of Ireland and the House of Ormond, with John Kirwan. Host and Venue: Royal Society of Antiquities, Helen Roe Theatre, Society House, 63 Merrion Square,
Dublin 2. 7:30pm. Free. All welcome.
Friday 13 December: RCB Library early closing. The Library, in
Churchtown, Dublin, will close at 1pm. Reopens Monday 16 December normal hours.
Friday 13 December: Christmas 1919 in Bray, County Wicklow, with James Scannell. Host: Bray Cualann Historical Society. Venue: Bray Library, Eglinton Road,
Bray, Co. Wicklow. 11:30am. All welcome. Free.
Saturday 14 December: Irish Historical Walking Tour of Central London. Host: Irish Historical Walks in London. Meeting venue: German Gymnasium, 1 Kings Boulevard,
London N1 (behind Kings Cross station. Tour visits areas with to 1916 rising in Dublin; Irish Ghettos such as Bloomsbury, Soho, Somerstown; places with links to Fenian rising of 1867, Young Irelanders in 1848, Micheal Collins, Constance Markievicz, and other Irish emigrants who lived, worked and studied in London. Tour is free. 11am to 1:30pm. Voluntary donation at the end.
Saturday 14 December: The National Library's History & Heritage: a guided tour. Venue: NLI, Kildare Street,
Dublin 2. 1pm. Admission is free and all are welcome. No need to book.
Monday 16 December:
Getting Started, an introductory workshop for those interested in local and family history. Host and venue: Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, Titanic Boulevard,
Belfast. 11am to 1pm. Free, but booking essential at
eventbrite.
Monday 16 December: Christmas through the Ages, with Su Topping. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society,
Larne Branch. Venue: Larne Bowling & Lawn Tennis Club, 112-120 Glenarm Road,
Larne, BT40 1DZ. All welcome. Free. 7:30pm.
Tuesday 17 December: Christmas through the Ages, with Su Topping. Host: North of Ireland Family History Society,
Belfast Branch. Venue: C. S. Lewis Room, Holywood Arches Library, 4-12 Holywood Road,
Belfast, BT4 1NT. 7:30pm. All welcome.
Tuesday 17 December: The Castles, Tower, & Fortified Houses of Limerick, 1199-1703, with Joseph Lennon. Host: Tipperary Studies. Venue: Gallery of the Source Library, Cathedral Street,
Thurles, Co Tipperary. Admission free. Tea served. All welcome. No booking required.
Note: In all likelihood, this year's run of genealogy and history lectures and events will dry up in the week before Christmas and won't get going again until the second week of the new year. If I hear of any others, though, I'll add them to this list.